The Aerospace Executive Podcast

We’ve all heard about the massive lay-offs at Google and Facebook, but what you probably haven’t heard is how quickly those employees were able to find new jobs. It just goes to show that when it comes to high quality talent, the power isn’t on the employer’s side.   Many companies are still working off old data, putting them at a great disadvantage in terms of finding talent. When it comes to get...

After the Eagles’ Super Bowl defeat, Jalen Hurts said, ‘you either win or you learn’, and it’s true. Losses and setbacks are the biggest teachers in life, but what if we could learn while we’re winning? Learning doesn’t have to be punitive, it can be something we do proactively.   What if we didn’t get too comfortable and complacent when we’re succeeding, so that we get ahead of failure?   In this...

Once upon a time in aviation and defense, tier 1 operators held all the cards and led all the innovation. Now the days of “you need us more than we need you” are squarely in the rearview mirror and smaller operators have a lot more power than they ever did before.   In a supply-constrained environment, the big operators rely on every single deliverable from small operators to keep their lines aflo...

Entrepreneurial individuals and salary-focused people aren’t built the same. This is a lesson smaller organizations learn the hard way when they bring on a leader who has a large corporate mentality.   The two types of business mentality don’t gel, and forcing a bureaucratic leadership style on an entrepreneurial organization can tank the business faster than any market downturn.   In this episode...

Over the last few years, the business of aviation has been impacted by so many powerful forces, it feels a lot like a rubber band that stretched too far. The question is:  will that rubber band ever retract back to what it was before, or is this just the new normal?   From inflation and the pilot shortage, to new buyers and changing pricing models, the industry has had to absorb a lot. Even though...

In my recent conversation with Mike ‘Nasty’ Manazir, he talked about starting with the end goal in mind and setting the intention to fly F-14s before it was even a possibility for him.   Every legendary pro-athlete knew what they wanted from a young age, and carved every aspect of their lives to get to that destination. In any field, the best of the best never lose sight of the ultimate goal, and...

In many facets, the idea of a fully electric future becomes more attainable by the day, and the question is if aeronautics and aviation are headed in that direction. There’s a lot of conversation about the possibility of electric aircraft, but how viable is it with the current battery technology and materials we have?   What are some of the challenges (and opportunities) in transitioning to electr...

Whether you’re leading a business organization or a ready room, excellence in leadership leaves clues. There’s an unmistakable formula to becoming the kind of leader people would walk through fire with. It’s never about the title or the ego, it’s about cohesion and the willingness to sometimes take a follower role.   In this episode, I’m joined by my old friend and author of “Learn How to Lead to...

Whether it’s a huge corporation, a small company or a news station, taking a struggling business from dead last to dominant is a unique, yet thrilling challenge for the right person.   When you’re brought in as the fix-it specialist, a lot needs to be done, from driving culture change to motivating your people. What are the most critical pieces of a successful turnaround? In this episode, I’m join...

If you ask most people what it takes to succeed, they’ll come up with an elaborate, overly complicated, multi-step formula, but that’s wholly unnecessary and even detrimental. All it really takes is executing a few simple concepts very well.   Think about Seven Nation Army - it’s basically 7 notes and a steady drum beat, but it works because it’s performed impeccably.   Our careers are exactly the...

In many organizations, the gap between the generations is a point of conflict and friction but it doesn’t have to be.   Sure, millennials/Gen-Z see work differently to their older coworkers and superiors, but there’s a lot of value in the perspectives each generation have, and that can make for a more resilient organization.   How do we facilitate better communication and collaboration between the...

Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has ignited much debate, discussion and in some cases, ire over how he’s gone about things. There’s no denying that he is the biggest creator of shareholder value in the history of man, and that he has the ability to make any company he touches great, but so many employees aren’t buying into his mission.   Could this breakdown be nothing more than a communication is...

Turning around an ailing company is a challenge most people would run away from, but some executives are actually built for patching up the Titanic. The individuals who can thrive in this situation know how to embrace the chaos, roll up their sleeves and make the hard decisions that set the organization on the right course.   What traits does a turnaround CEO need to have?   In this episode, I’m j...

If you run a small business, M&As may not be something you pay attention to because they are happening at the big picture level, but they affect the entire landscape of the industry. Whether a company gets snapped up or spun off, these movements create a ripple effect throughout the marketplace.   Even if you’re a smaller operator, the strategic, technical and competitive impacts of company consol...

When people think of what motivates a person to quit their job, money is the first thing that comes to mind, but very often it’s not even at the top of the list.   The reasons people leave an organization go far deeper than monetary gain, there’s usually a lot more they aren’t getting from their company. In fact, we can attribute a career move to 6 reasons. Identifying these reasons as leaders hel...

For how much time we spend on our phones, it’s astonishing how afraid people are of picking up the phone and just having a conversation. Progress is made and things come together in conversations that can’t be had via text and email.   Trying to force all communication through text and emails has led to passive aggressive texts, angry emails and other totally avoidable confrontations.   Why are we...

In nature, the rule of balance reigns supreme - things will always return to an equilibrium, no matter what. In finance, reverting to the mean is a certainty, a swinging pendulum will always return to center.   The employment market is no different - right now everything is irrational, and it’s driving everything from jet pricing to salaries, but eventually the music will stop.   The challenge is...

Resilience and determination are highly sought after traits, and sometimes that’s what it takes to stay in a challenging job or career. But when the environment becomes too difficult or toxic, we just have to cut our losses and quit.   But how do we know if we've reached the end of the line with our jobs? What can we do to prepare before throwing in the towel?   In this episode of the Million Doll...

It’s really easy to wreck a great career when you make decisions based on emotions and take action with no real vision, and unfortunately, we’re seeing a lot of that right now.   There are many people making career moves for the sake of it instead of taking a rational approach to make sure the job actually serves them long term.   Just like planes, your career needs a flight plan, measurable miles...

There’s a lot of passive aggressive behavior in the working world right now, and doing the bare minimum isn’t just something employees do - companies do it too.   Quiet firing is the practice of slowly freezing out an employee hoping they self-select out, instead of just facing the issues head-on. It’s dishonest, unproductive and wholly unnecessary and entirely avoidable. How can you tell you’re b...

Even the most talented and driven people can find themselves feeling stuck in their careers, dealing with job circumstances that suck the life out of them. From working with quiet quitters, to feeling like you’ve hit the ceiling in the organization or your capabilities not being noticed, how do you get unstuck? What actions can you take to keep expanding and building up your profile? In this episo...

The foundation of a million dollar career is your ability to be so valuable and knowledgeable that people need you more than you need them. You don’t have to be the CEO to have this advantage - you just need to master your craft, show that you’re an asset and position yourself strategically to use your voice when it matters. In this edition of the Million Dollar Careers, Rob Houghton and I discuss...

As the aerospace industry emerges from the last kicks of covid, mergers and acquisitions are a great barometer of the new developments, the big market needs and the concerns of both buyers and sellers. Even though there’s still a little caution in the air, many corners in the industry are poised to make major moves going forward. Where are big firms looking to participate right now? How can buyers...

The pandemic created a unique set of circumstances for private aviation; an alignment between the forced adoption of technology and the emergence of a new type of consumer has given the sector an incredible boost in demand and volume. A monumentally entrepreneurial organization like Sentient Jet is primed for this private aviation gold rush, and on the forefront of evangelizing the sector. What ar...

In a post-pandemic world of work, the frustrations and concerns that led to The Great Resignation have morphed into a more passive aggressive trend. Quiet quitting has emerged as the way unhappy employees express their job dissatisfaction, but does it actually do more harm to the worker than the employer? In this episode of Million Dollar Careers, we’re going to talk about why quiet quitting destr...